| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better 11:34 - Aug 9 with 276 views | GlasgowBlue |
If we are going to get anything against Southampton. Lots of lacklustre performances and some hangovers from last season.
Palmer worries me. He has done since his first couple of excellent games for us. He’s a good shot stopper but he’s not the goalkeeper for a McKenna team. Awful in possession. Wish we still Vas. Maybe the relationship between club and player has broken down beyond repair but it’s a shame we can’t rehabilitate Muric. Much better than Palmer.
Ben Johnson has poor discipline imo. Makes too many unnecessary fouls, gives the ball away in dangerous positions and doesn’t look particularly interested. We need to start Young next week.
Leif wasn’t at his best. But I put that down to not being 100% fit.
Greaves and O’Shea were class. Greaves in particular winning everything in the air and making some great tackles. Put Palmer under pressure in the build up to the goal but we had plenty of opportunities to stop the ball coming back. No issues with those two.
Last season we had a midfield problem. We knew this at the end of 2024. 8 months later we have a midfield problem. Matusiwa has had an excellent pre season. He looks quality. But last night he was very sloppy in possession. Could have quite easily had a red card after going in hard whilst on a yellow. I don't have any worries about him though. From what I’ve seen of him pre season he looks a stronger and fitter version of Morsy.
Jack Taylor, however, is a real worry. I know he’s just a placeholder until Cajuste is fit, but Cajuste won’t play 40+ games and Taylor simply isn’t up to the job. There is a reason that he has only started a couple of handful of games in the last 2 seasons. There was no creativity in the midfield, which left Hirst isolated. Cam Humphreys showed more forward thinking creativity in the few minutes he was in than Taylor did all game. We need that creative midfielder signed asap.
Ogbene is obviously some way from being match fit. He had zero pace. A shadow of the player we saw for the ROI against England last year. That pace will return with games but he’s only starting due to the injury “cough” to Omari.
Szmods didn’t have his best game and he hasn’t been great in pre season as a no 10. Chaplin is our best 10 at the moment and should start. I’d rather see Szmods on the left.
Which brings me to Jack Clarke. He’s an enigma. His stats show he was the best left sided attacker in the Championship for two seasons. He shows flashes of that but very rarely. I hope KM persists with him. He’s obviously a confidence player. A league goal will get him going imo.
Not much to say about Hirst. He had no service. He’s had a great pre season. Get the ball to him and he’ll score. More importantly, get the ball to him and he’ll bring our other attackers into the game.
Lots of work to do this week. Both in the training ground and in the transfer market. But on the evidence of last night, we aren’t going to live up to our top billing.
[Post edited 9 Aug 11:38]
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| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:37 - Aug 9 with 200 views | BloomBlue |
Are Southampton playing brilliant football (I've not watched them yet)? |  | | |
| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:40 - Aug 9 with 163 views | GlasgowBlue |
| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:37 - Aug 9 by BloomBlue |
Are Southampton playing brilliant football (I've not watched them yet)? |
Birmingham didn't play great football. I thought they were average. It's not about the opposition. It's about how we are playing and the players we have at our disposal. We are coming up short as a squad. | |
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| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:42 - Aug 9 with 149 views | Herbivore |
I do think people have forgotten just how bad Muric was. He's definitely got better the longer he's been out of the side for sure. I agree that Palmer isn't brilliant but I feel much more confident in us defensively with him in the team that I did with Muric.
Thought quite a few players looked rusty. Half the team didn't play much football last season for a variety of reasons and Matusiwa is new to the team and to English football. Think we did okay to keep going and come away with a point given we were a way off our best.
Think there's some overreaction going on, not necessarily from you, but a lot of negativity when ultimately we picked up a result most fans said they'd be happy with before kick off. Given injuries and other stuff going on, it was always going to be a testing opener and no surprise really that we weren't great. We take the point and move on, and we will absolutely get better in the coming weeks. |  |
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| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:43 - Aug 9 with 134 views | Herbivore |
| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:40 - Aug 9 by GlasgowBlue |
Birmingham didn't play great football. I thought they were average. It's not about the opposition. It's about how we are playing and the players we have at our disposal. We are coming up short as a squad. |
It's one game, played in difficult circumstances. Not sure you can conclude the squad is coming up short on the basis of one game. | |
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| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:55 - Aug 9 with 42 views | Wacko |
| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:42 - Aug 9 by Herbivore |
I do think people have forgotten just how bad Muric was. He's definitely got better the longer he's been out of the side for sure. I agree that Palmer isn't brilliant but I feel much more confident in us defensively with him in the team that I did with Muric.
Thought quite a few players looked rusty. Half the team didn't play much football last season for a variety of reasons and Matusiwa is new to the team and to English football. Think we did okay to keep going and come away with a point given we were a way off our best.
Think there's some overreaction going on, not necessarily from you, but a lot of negativity when ultimately we picked up a result most fans said they'd be happy with before kick off. Given injuries and other stuff going on, it was always going to be a testing opener and no surprise really that we weren't great. We take the point and move on, and we will absolutely get better in the coming weeks. |
He wasn't that bad, he just made some very high-profile mistakes at a time when we were clearly directed to play out from the back more. Even then, his stats were better than Palmer's last season:
Muric
https://www.premierleague.com/en/players/232917/arijanet-muric/stats
Palmer
https://www.premierleague.com/en/players/112520/alex-palmer/stats
Muric had more clean sheets, conceded fewer goals per game, more passes completed |  |
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| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:58 - Aug 9 with 10 views | GlasgowBlue |
| We’re gong to have to play a damn sight better on 11:43 - Aug 9 by Herbivore |
It's one game, played in difficult circumstances. Not sure you can conclude the squad is coming up short on the basis of one game. |
When we have to play AAH as a right winger, flog an unfit Leif Davis on the left, start with Ogbene when he should be slowly rehabilitated back into the team after being out so long and have limited midfield options, then we are definitely coming up short as a squad. | |
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